Wednesday, February 1, 2012

When it comes to cleaning, I don't believe the men and women have ever seen eye to eye.

Compared to 30 years ago, the role men play inside the home has certainly evolved and most men step up and do their share helping with household chores. But is it enough and are they given credit for their efforts by their female counterparts?

Today the makers of Scrubbing Bubbles released the second annual Dirty Work Index survey, and found when it comes to cleaning, women still play the dominant role and in fact, may not be ready to share the spotlight even though they want more help.

As a result, Scrubbing Bubbles has partnered with John Gray, best-selling author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, to engage couples in a healthy discussion to try to resolve the age-old household chore debate, bringing harmony to the home.

This year's Dirty Work Index survey focused on men, women and modern families and their approach to cleaning and getting it all done. Interestingly, Scrubbing Bubbles found that when it comes to cleaning, women think they do it all:

58% of women say it’s their "job" to clean, and a quarter (25%) of all women feel as if they are the cleaning "leader" in their homes.

Conversely, more than half of women confided that they want more overall help from their partner, but 38% don’t trust them to meet their standards of cleanliness.

The survey also revealed that while men are helping around the house, they aren't given credit when credit is due:

45% of men surveyed say it's their job to clean and contribute to the household accordingly.

More surprisingly, nearly 75 percent of men claim to clean to make their partner happy – demonstrating they do care about helping out and are picking up the slack.

To help partners sort it out, Scrubbing Bubbles has partnered with John Gray, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his classic book, to try to sort things out.

"Women's and men's roles outside the home have definitely evolved, but the Dirty Work Index survey results indicate that we need to make more of an effort to make changes inside the home, too," says Gray. "It's important to take a closer look at things like household tasks to determine what's working – and what's not."

From now through June 2012, John Gray will be offering tips and advice to couples on how to conquer household chores and create more harmony at home. By visiting Scrubby Solution's Facebook tab families can share their roles, responsibilities and tips for getting it all done.

Additionally, fans can participate in a Q&A session with John Gray, take a cleaning personality quiz complete with product recommendations and cleaning solutions, and read more surprising data from the Scrubbing Bubbles Dirty Work Index survey.

The foundation of a family begins at home so managing home life – including cleaning – is essential to families' happiness. How families deal with household chores either strengthens the partnership or creates a divide. Gray offers this advice for creating the best atmosphere at home:

Define the roles: It's important to identify all the household chores and discuss who will have ownership of each.

Discuss expectations: The results showed that women don’t trust men to meet their standards of clean. Gray recommends that women actually show men how they want the house cleaned and that couples discuss what clean means to each of them.

Look for time-saving cleaning tools: Stock your home with cleaning products that are easy to use and efficient. For example, use Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner and Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner. These products make the tough tasks easier so anyone in the family can help clean.

Remember to say thank you: Whether or not the bathroom shines the way you want, don’t forget to say thank you for making the effort.

Around our house, things are actually pretty evenly split. I try to keep up with the day-to-day cleaning aspects but my husband is the one that is depended on for the down and dirty work of the deep cleaning. However, I can't recall us ever having talked about our expectations... and I know I would sure be more apt to clean if I got a sincere thank you each time!

One thing I know we're doing right is taking advantage of the convenience of products from Scrubbing Bubbles. I love being able to use their one-touch products or those that are just able to power through the dirt and grime with ease. Who wants to spend any more time cleaning than they have to?

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comments:

It's exactly as they said. I'm the cleaning leader because the other half of this household is pathetic in his attempts. I do appreciate that he's willing to help, and believe me, he makes an effort, but he's just not as thorough so I end up doing it all over.

This post cracks me up. I am not married but my parents are the complete opposite of this survey. My dad has always been way more domestic than my mom. I think it is because my mom grew up with a cleaning woman and my dad grew up doing everything himself!